The country's Deputy Labour Minister Mufrej Al-Haqbani said the Ministry would start issuing visas for domestic workers once the unified contracts are signed, media reported on Monday.

Al-Haqbani said the Ministry is communicating with the Indian and Indonesian authorities to sign the unified labour contracts in May 2014.

He said the Labour Ministry has contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help organise the visits of two delegations from these countries.

There has been considerable shortage of domestic workers for the last three years, especially after the Ethiopian expatriates were banned in the country following a surge in the rate of crime, the report said.